The Stitch and Thimble : 04

This has been a truly cross-continental issue of the Stitch and Thimble – starting in the northern hemisphere and ending in the southern. It's been a good lesson in working on the go and kept me busy for the few quiet moments in the past month when we haven't been hanging out with friends and family.

There's a kid's placemat and drawstring jewellery pouch, a pincushion with vintage-inspired embroidery and covered buttons, and a Scottie in trellis work. I also learnt two new techniques putting this issue together: making twisted cord and covering buttons, both of which I recommend giving a try.


This issue also marks the end of the Stitch and Thimble's first year in existence. It's been a big success from my point of view as a designer, as I've learnt and grown so much from putting these first four issues together. It hasn't been that successful commercially, though, which it needs to be if I'm to make this a career.

So I'd like to ask a big favour: If you like it, please would you pass on the word and let your embroidery friends know about the Stitch and Thimble? It'd be so appreciated. And if you don't like it, please let me know! Feedback is vital and the whole point is to come up with designs that needlewomen around the world actually want to stitch.

That said, a huge thank you to everyone who's bought the publication in the past year. And issue 04 is now available on my website for anyone who'd like a copy.

On the road

It's been a whirlwind of a month so far, catching up with family and friends in Johannesburg and Rustenburg. And we arrived in Port Elizabeth (where I was born) on Friday to visit more family on my side (I have a big one). We drove down in two days, staying over in a little town called Bethulie on the border of the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.


Driving through the picturesque landscape around Bethulie reminded me how influential your surroundings can be on how inspired you feel. The endless rolling grasslands and mountains made me want to take out my sketchbook and get to work – a feeling I haven't really felt since we arrived in South Africa. It was almost like I had room to exhale again. But this is something I already know about myself, and part of the reason why we're travelling around the country.



Not only are we catching up with everyone, we're also scouting for a place to settle. It's one of those situations where we don't really know where, but will know it when we see it. We'd love to live somewhere with big open spaces, a place where we wake up feeling inspired on a daily basis. Somewhere we can indulge our desire for a creative, more outdoors way of life in which time is measured by the sun and the seasons rather than office hours.

In the meantime, though, I've been snatching hours here and there to work on the fourth issue of the Stitch and Thimble. I'm getting there…

Flutter By : 5

So we arrived back in South Africa just in time for the coldest cold spell, before winter had officially even begun. And houses here are built for the long summers, not winter – you won't find much in the way of double glazing or heating. Suffice to say it took a fair bit of effort to warm my fingers up enough to hold a needle.

Fortunately I'd prepared the fifth butterfly in the series before we left the UK, so all I had to do was stitch it up. And it was like an oasis in the mayhem of moving countries to sit in the late morning winter sun for a few hours with my thoughts and a needle.


But now I've encountered technical problems with my website... So I've posted the pattern for you here in jpeg format, as my internet access is sporadic at the moment and I don't want to keep you waiting (click on the pattern to get the full-size version). Hopefully I'll be able load it on to kellyfletcher.co.uk shortly.